


a simple intimacy.

by bledstars



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Pining, Romance, Yearning, cbzinelovelanguage, childhood friends turned lovers, hand holding, regency au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bledstars/pseuds/bledstars
Summary: a light graze, a polite grip, a gentle squeeze. it didn't matter how or where, when their hands met, they fit perfectly with each other's.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	a simple intimacy.

It was easier when they were children. When taking the other’s hand wasn’t symbolic, it didn’t hold the same weight that it did now. Things were easier when they were innocent and naive, but he supposed that they all had to grow up some time. 

Leather met silk as she placed her hand on top of his and he guided her down the marble stairs of the estate. These were the hands that could hold a gun better than any man. These were the hands that held his face when his mother died and he couldn’t cry. For the next heir to the dukedom could not show any emotion. But she came into his study and held his face and pressed her forehead to his and whispered that he did well. 

These were the hands he longed to feel without the gloves they were told to wear. To touch her bare hand, to feel her pulse against the inside of her wrist, to share in her warmth. 

His grip on her hand grew tighter, and her eyes lifted to look at him with concern. “Your grace?” She whispered and he stared down and gave her a gentle smile. 

“My apologies, my lady. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t fall.” 

The corners of her lips lifted slightly before she looked forward and let out a sigh. “As long as I am with you. As long as it’s your hand. I trust that I would never fall…You would never let that happen.”She whispered softly before entering the ballroom where the real battle would begin.

A battle of wits. A battle of fake smiles and empty compliments. A battle of the nobility that they both dreaded and despised. Yet, he felt…stronger, safer even when she was by his side. Because at least with her, he’d have an ally here. “If you ever need a breath of fresh air.” He said as he lowered his lips to her ear and gave her hand a small squeeze. “Just gimme the sign and I’ll come to rescue you.” 

“You mean tap my nose three times like we did when we were kids?” She said with an amused glint in her eyes. “Then I ask you to do the same. If you grow tired of the mamas who look at you like a piece of meat, simply tap and I shall be your knight in shining armor.” 

“I am swooning already.” 

It was this playful banter that they shared that made being with her so much easier than anyone else. He looked around and saw the men that looked at her and the women that looked at him and sighed. He wished he didn’t have to let go of this hand, but her Aunt Rhea had insisted on her dancing with at least three different partners and not just him. 

He lifted her hand and gently filled out his name on her dance card before bowing low. “I’ll see you soon then?” 

“Tap if you need me.” And as their hands parted, fingers stretching out to let their time linger for just a few moments longer, she was gone. He clenched his hand tightly into a fist, grasping at nothing but air before sighing. 

As Claude stood with a few of his peers, his eyes kept following Byleth and the almost countless suitors that seemed to ask if they could dance with her. Soon her card was filled out and she was taken to the dance floor, a never-ending cycle of suitors that tried to keep the general’s daughter. 

He clicked his tongue when he saw one man’s hand move a bit too low for his liking. 

Then he saw her soft green eyes lift, and the glare she gave him before she let go of his hand and quickly curtsied. The man looked flustered as she stopped dancing midway through the routine. Her eyes avoiding him and searching for someone else. And then when her eyes met him, she smiled. His brow raised at the strange smile until he saw her lift her finger and tap the side of her nose three times.

“If you’ll excuse me.” He said to the ladies that tried to catch his attention and moved through the crowd to get back to her. “Lady Eisner.” He said, not trying to seem like he rushed to her side. And when she brought a gloved hand to her lips, the mirth in her eyes as she gazed at him, he didn’t quite care about anything else. “I know that we are scheduled for a dance..but would you mind if we took a walk instead? After all, the weather is quite lovely tonight. A rare warm winter night shouldn’t be wasted.” 

“Absolutely not.” She said and he could practically hear the laughter in her voice as she put her hand in his and he guided her off the dance floor and out to the gardens. 

Time with her seemed to pass too fast and too slow. A strange feeling filled him as he twirled her around once and listened to the music of her laugh ringing through the air. There would simply never be enough time with her. “You did promise me a dance.” He whispered when he pulled her in before bringing their joined hands up to his lips and kissing the top of it. 

Then like clockwork, time slowed down and all he saw was her. Her beautiful face framed by her lovely mint hair. Her light green eyes that twinkled under the starlight and how she gazed at him and he felt… _whole._

“Byleth…” His green eyes looked at her and he wondered if she knew. She was the one who knew him best, how could she not know of his feelings for her and how deeply they ran. How could she not know, And when her eyes lifted to look at him, his breath caught in the back of his throat. _She was beautiful._ He reached out, longing to touch her face and show her how ardently he loved her. 

His gloved hand inched forward, and just as he was about to graze her skin, she moved her head sharply and broke the little dream they were in. 

“I want to walk along that wall.” She said quickly, putting a hand to her chest, moving her lips as if she was counting her heartbeats. He felt time move again and his heart sank slightly. _Why did she do this every time?_ She took his hand into hers again and pulled him to the gardens where a stone wall was. He would follow her anywhere and she knew that. From the soft smile on her lips that she gave him over her shoulder to the way her pinned hair slowly became undone. It was unladylike, yet it still held a certain gracefulness that he couldn’t pull away from. 

He pulled her hand and when she collided to his chest, he smiled softly. “Let me help you.” Claude huskily whispered into her ear before his hands moved to her waist and hoisted her up to help her set her footing down onto the wall. Her soft gasp to the way she looked at him and only him, he wanted to freeze time at this moment. Where he could hold her in his hands and not feel like he was doing something scandalous. As she balanced herself, he held out his hand to her and smiled. “A gentleman always escorts his lady to the very end.” 

That earned him a laugh as she placed her hand back in his and nodded. The way her hand fit perfectly in his, even after all these years apart, his fingers slowly enclosed hers as he walked alongside the wall with her. He never wanted to let go of this hand. 

He watched as she took in a deep breath and sighed. Swaying slightly as she walked along the wall. He watched her as the moonlight shined behind her and made the soft pastels of her dress light up and brighten her countenance. She looked ethereal in the way she moved and then when she gazed down to look at him, giving him that soft smile, he felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Claude?” She called out to him and he realized that he had stopped moving to simply stare at her. 

“I apologize, By.” He chuckled before walking again. “I just got lost in my thoughts.” 

“Don’t wander too far…I wouldn’t want to lose you.” 

“You could never lose me..and I would always find my way back to you.” 

There was a silence as if she was trying to think of something clever to make him flustered but she couldn’t think of anything that would make his heart flutter like he did with hers. Like she was holding her breath for a while, she slowly exhaled. 

“Are you uncomfortable?” His brows knitted as he watched struggle slightly with her breathing. “Perhaps your dress is…” 

“Well you have never had to wear a corset.” She said with a laugh as she put her other hand on the bodice of her dress and breathed in deeply. He was just happy that she didn’t let go of his hand as she steadied her breathing.

“And for that I am thankful I was born a man.” There was a playful lift in his voice that made her scoff. Just like that, he had broken the tension that was between them. He did not know whether to be proud of his choice or to anguish in it. How long would they tip toe around the idea of being something more than just friends? But then he saw her, holding her breath, looking slightly afraid of him and he hated it. He hated it so much that he would rather die than see it again. He wanted her to be comfortable around him, to be able to breathe around him, to not see him as the Duke of House Riegan but as Claude…as Khalid…her childhood friend. The boy that she gave a flower ring to when they were just children. She was the woman he loved all his life..she would be the woman he would always love. 

“How boring, if that’s all your thankful for…I think I might have your head, Duke von Riegan.” 

“Oh _please…not_ with that dry title. Come on now, just because I have a title, doesn’t mean anything has changed between us, dear friend.” 

The joyful laughter stopped and she turned to look at him seriously. “You and I both know that _everything_ has changed.” There was a sorrow in her eyes. It wasn’t just his title that had changed, but their very way of living. Before, he could have just taken her hand and danced with her all night but if they did that now…the whispers would be far too much. They were no longer naive children. He was a Duke and she was a lady that had entered into society. 

Their roles have changed even if they never wanted it to. 

“I don’t think we have to change…At least not while we are alone.” Her felt nervous suddenly, like she was pulling away from him. Like the hand in his would slip away and he would never be able to hold it again. He tightened his grip around her and shook his head. No, he would rather find a way to throw away this title than to lose her. He was a man devoted to a woman not to a title. 

Claude stopped and as he slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze. He watched as her soft mint locks blow with the wind before she forced herself to smile. It didn’t suit her, to put on a mask that society told her to wear. To always look happy or pleased, to only consider one’s outside appearance and how they are viewed. He wanted to pull at her cheeks and tell her if she wanted to..she could be mad, she could upset, she could— 

“If I was born a man….I wouldn’t be trapped in that house. I would travel…see the world…I would want to live my life with a man that didn’t expect me to spend my days embroidering.” 

“You can always find a husband that will take you around the world.” 

“Does such a husband even exist in Fodlan?”She said with a sigh as she slowly turned her body to him and gave him a sad smile. “No, a man…my future husband would expect even me, the daughter of General Jeralt, the hero of the war, to simply be demure and quiet and stay at home..To open up her legs and pop out his heirs. He would never look at me like an equal..I would just be a doll…a wife….There is no man that would view me as a partner in this world.” 

“There is.” 

“Pray do introduce me then. I shall marry him at once.” She said as she tried her best from crying because of the frustrations that came with being a woman in this world. How no matter how great she was, she’d only be as great as her husband She’d only be an accessory. She would—

“It’s me.” 

As the silence surrounded them, they stared at one another. The wind that blew gently through the leave was greeted by the soft sounds of the creak over the stone wall that she stood on. Inhaling slowly, she simply put her weight on his hand and jumped off the wall. Landing gracefully as she did so, not daring to look at him the eyes as she took a step towards him. 

“You can always marry me.” He said more clearly as his grip around her hand tightened. “By..we can…” 

“Do not jest about things that affect a woman’s life, Claude.” She whispered through her teeth, her eyes opting to look at the decorations on his shoulder. “It is not fair…It’s not fair to me…To make me…To make me believe that…” 

“I wasn’t joking, By.” He slowly reached out with his other hand, letting his fingers lightly touch a strand of her hair that before tucking it behind her ear. His hand lingered to lightly brush against her cheek before he cupped, he held their joined hands between them as he took a step closer to her. “I mean it…sincerely..with all my heart…You can marry me. We can get married to each other.” 

“Claude…You don’t have to say these things…just because I am an old friend…I will find a suitor…Maybe an earl or..”

“I do not wish to see you go down a church’s halls in a white gown with someone else to take your hand.” His tone was low as he brought her gloved hand up and pressed the silk against his lips. “Lady Eisener...Byleth...By…I adore you…You are the most important woman..nay…person in my life…Please….Consider my proposal with sincerity because I do not say it lightly.” 

She breathed in slowly as she finally saw the shimmer in his green eyes, his beautiful green eyes that she dreamt of every night. “Since when?” Her voice trembled slightly. Was he on some sort of schedule where he needed a wife? Or at least look like he had a potential fiancé? Was this all a ploy, a ruse…For how long did he burn for her? 

“Since…when? I’m sorry..I do not …” 

“When have you considered me your marriage partner?” 

A crooked smile appeared on his lips. The boyish temperament that reminded her of their shared childhood. Of sweet days spent playing with one another, of rainy afternoons spent reading in the library, of cold nights where he would take off his coat and put it over her shoulder as they took a night walk in the gardens. 

“You recall the time we went to the meadows where we used to make flower crowns?” 

“Yes…” 

“I recall one day you put one of those little crowns over my finger. How you said…that even if the world was against us…even if I chose to turn away from my title..that you would treat me like you always did and never leave my side.” 

“Claude…that was…so long ago…We were children.” She wanted to be doubtful but when he looked at her with such earnest eyes, with eyes that never told her a single lie, how could her heart not be shaken by the idea of marrying her best friend. A dream that even she never thought she’d have. A dream she never even considered to think about because it would only lead to heartbreak when it didn’t come true. 

“I found children to be wiser than most adults…but I knew…from the moment you put that flower ring on me…that there could be no other duchess…no other woman..I could possibly adore as much as I adore you…”He let his lips linger against her knuckles and smiled gently at her, gazing at her from above her fingers. “Now..I may use up all my courage to ask you this…but….do you harbor the same feelings as I do?”

She didn’t know what to say or do at that moment except for smile. For what she saw in front of him was akin to a miracle in the world they lived in. In front of her was a man who she had known all her life. It was a man that was revealing all his cards. It was a man that she knew would never do so unless he found the gamble well worth it. It was a man that held his heart out to her, letting her do as she wished. He gave her a choice…

“We’ve been separated for so long..I was afraid that…whatever we had..the feelings that kept growing between us..that they would have cooled down that…” 

“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”He said as he finally lifted his head, his hand now placed to the back of her head. His head tilted to the side as he lowered it slowly. “Tell me, By…Do you…burn for me as I burn for you? Would you let me allow to make my dream a reality by asking you for your hand…to allow me to properly court the lady that I love and cherish so dearly…Will you allow me to be your partner and see the world with you?” 

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him inch closer to him, her eyes fluttering. She felt every nerve in her body fire and yet she was not afraid. To feel so much for one person, was that not what she always wanted? To be able to keep this wonderful friendship and let it grow into something more. Something more intimate that only belonged to them. Was he not what she always wanted? 

“Yes.” She breathed and with that, she felt his lips capture hers. And the burning feeling grew and spread throughout her body. As he finally let her hand go, she wanted to almost whine but then his arms wrapped her waist to pull her in closer. Was this what it felt like to finally find the perfect match? To feel complete and full and sated, even if she never felt like she was lacking anything…yet to have him… _it was everything._

“Be with me always.Never leave my side again…if you wish to go somewhere, take me with you, By…” 

“There is no place I’d rather be than with you, Khalid.” 

And under the darkness of the night, a duke found his duchess. 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly..Claudeleth invented hand holding just...I love them so much!!!!  
> P.S: Claude's childhood nickname is Khalid..only his parents and Byleth called him that xoxo. 
> 
> This is an expansion of my regency brainrot! Blame Bridgerton...to be quite honest for bringing this era back into the forefront of my brain. Than you to the Claudeleth Zine's Love Language prompts! I give you the first of my fourteen love stories....that I hope that I can do before February ends. This piece was also Inspired and festered by cha's artwork and our constant talks about regency!claudeleth
> 
> (https://twitter.com/charlenesketch/status/1354851327231152131)
> 
> love language: physical touch, hand-holding.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Find me on Twitter @ bledstars !


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